1. First off, explain the recording process for the album. How long did it take? What was the toughest part of the process?

The
whole process took about 4 years. During the first year I locked myself
in the studio writing and recording the preproduction demos, where I
played and sang everything. Then it took another year to record the
special guests around the world through the Net. The third year was
about mixing, artwork and shopping for a record deal, then 6 more months
awaiting album release. That said I have learned much from that first
experience, so hopefully the next album will take much less!

2.
What was it like working with musicians like Gregg Bissonette, Magnus
Jacobson, Tony Franklin, Guthrie Govan, Jeff Watson, John Payne, Goran
Edman, Amanda Somerville, and Tony Mills? How did each of these
musicians contribute on making the record as fantastic as it was?

That
was an amazing experience, which I would have never thought possible a
few years back. I feel very humbled and honored by their presence on my
album, and I am very proud of their work. Many of them became good
friends and all of them proved to be really wonderful people. Their
parts were essentially already prepared on the demos, but each artist
added his own expertise, often changing parts and arrangements according
to the needs of the song. The album is a whole different beast compared
to the original demo versions. An anecdote that really floored me was
Gregg recording all his drums (13 complex prog songs) in one single day
in LA. Tony’s unique fretless bass gives the album a very original
flavor, Guthrie is just beyond description, some of his guitar
orchestrations had up to 64 layers, and his solos, especially on the
fretless guitar cannot be described in words, while Jeff is featured on a
very difficult and beautiful 12-string guitar part in Darwin’s Tears.
John gave that unique Asia flavor to the album, Göran was the most
creative, adding very complex vocal arrangements to my original
orchestrations, plus the wonderfully narrated Norse myths at the
beginning of Twilight of the Gods. Tony was the busiest, singing on
three of the most complex songs on the album and he is also the
staunched supporter of the project. Amanda added a beautiful ethereal
vocal line to Back Swans.

3. Obviously there are
comparisons to Dream Theater, Yes, Genesis and others; but I'm certainly
hearing a lot of influence from Anthony Arjen Lucsassen's brainchild,
Ayreon. What bands in general were major influences to the work?

Ok,
I have to be very clear here, because I read a lot of nonsense in the
press about this topic. Musically, my main influences were Yes, ELP,
Asia, Journey, early Dream Theater, Threshold, David Bowie, Duran Duran,
The Rockets and JM Jarre. Ayreon and Lucassen had absolutely no
influence or impact on anything I’ve done. Believe it or not, I wrote
most of the plot and music between 1990 and 1994, and Ayreon was not
even out there in those days. Of course he came first and I finally
bought one of his CDs two years ago to check him out. He is an excellent
artist, and the master of this kind of work, but there isn’t a single
note or word from Ayeron in my entire album. Sorry to disappoint all the
reviewers out there!

4. How do you feel about the
state of music today? Some people claim that music just isn't as good
these days as it was 40 or 50 years ago. Do you agree? If so, what do
you think could be the reason why music these days just is as memorable?

Well,
it’s good and bad. It’s never been as easy as today to make music,
especially high quality and complex music like Docker’s Guild. That’s
why I’ve waited so long, the technology just wasn’t there before.
Another reason is that the barriers between genres and dated and modern
styles have disappeared. The terrible prejudices my generation had to
face in the ‘90s are just gone now. There is an audience for everything,
which often crosses all age and national barriers. That said, the
market is saturated with mediocre stuff and the fact that anyone can
fake being a talented artist at home with the help of the Net and an
iMac is not helping. Then there is the piracy issue, and that is a major
problem which I won’t even get into here.

5. How do you feel about the metal scene today? What are some current bands that you feel are really invigorating the genre?

I
don’t really follow it, but from what I hear everything sounds very
stereotyped to me. One style I’ve been following a bit is symphonic and
gothic rock/metal since many of my students love this music. After a
while, the guitar riffs, sounds, the orchestras, the singers, they all
sound the same. Modern, sure, but very repetitive with little movement
forward. Then you get review blaming Docker’s Guild for not inventing
anything new and sounding dated. Well, yes, but actually, nobody sounds
like us out there right now, dated or not! What I really love these days
are Threshold and Pretty Maids, two of the most creative, consistent
and talented bands out there. They never miss a beat and never
compromise. Pure genius.

6. Explain the concept of your album. What points are you really trying to get across with the science fiction epic?

Since
the album has come out I’ve been called a Satanist, an atheist, a New
Age freak, and many more kind epithets. Of course I am none of those
things. The album is not against religion or any spiritual path. The
album is a deep analysis and critique of the madness of man when he
loses the ability to think and uses religion as an excuse for any kind
of atrocity. This is an album humans, not about God. It’s in the news
every day, I didn’t invent anything there. But somehow as soon as you
point these things out, you’re against God. It sounds scarily close to
the “we didn’t know” from 1945… I plugged the main theme into a sci-fi
story just because I’m a huge sci-fi fan and it was much more fun to
develop it in that way. Darwin’s Tears for example is a passionate song
about the battle between Evolution and Creationism, with the latter
winning unfortunately, and it is set at the time of the last dinosaur,
having a dialogue with the alien Technocrat that caused their
extinction. It’s a very moving song for such a dry topic!

7.
There are a few tracks that I am curious about in particular. Could you
explain the concept behind "Darwin's Tears, "Norse Cosmogony" and it's
relation to "Judeo-Christian Cosmogony", "Loving The Alien" and "The
Secret Of DNA?"

I’ll get a little deeper into Darwin’s
Tears then. It’s an extremely complex song lyrically, and also
structurally. The music uses a telescopic compositional technique, which
means that each time a section of the song returns, it is always
different and longer than the previous time. The arrangement is also
very complex, with a whole guitar orchestra with over 60 parts.
Lyrically, there are several layers. The strange spoken words heard
throughout the song are from “Eternity”, who recites a list of
supercontinents from the ancient past to the future, representing the
relentless passage of time. Then there are the main lyrics, a dialogue
between the last dinosaur and the Technocrat who kills him. This
alternates with an unrelated text which focuses on three Muses, Urania
(Astronomy), Cleo (History) and Euterpe (Music), who have a Sapphic
relationship and create the dark world the plot evolves in. This kind of
“tribute” to who inspired a story was common in Renaissance and Baroque
theater and opera, and that’s where it comes from. There are also loads
of obscure references to sci-fi movies and books, comics, etc. There
are mentions of Uatu, Klaatu, The Land That Time Forgot, and many, many
more. There is a real treasure hunt waiting here for those that have the
patience and inclination ;)Twilight of the Gods is a 20 min-long
suite in 4 movements. The first two describe the origins of the world
and humans in Norse mythology, first in Swedish then in English. I got a
lot of crap for the Swedish part, but I needed to establish that these
Vikings, sitting in a cave around a fire, were telling stories that they
then brought with them on their raids, hence the various background
noises. Nobody got it unfortunately, and the piano part, which is quite
complex, got completely bypassed. The third movement tells the same
story according to Genesis, but then it climaxes towards a real Tower of
Babel of languages, all telling their myths. I did massive research for
this and hired native speakers in Arabic, Hebrew, Swedish, Classical
Latin, Medieval Latin, Italian, French, English and Thai. The point is,
everybody is talking so much, there’s no one left to listen. The last
movement, The Divine Comedy is a cynical look at how these myths, which
were invented by men based on real events, have somehow taken control of
our lives to a point where we can’t even choose what is right or wrong
on our own anymore. As soon as you question one, you are blasphemous,
heretical, etc.Loving the Alien is a cover of the Bowie song from
1984, I just made it a little heavier. The lyrics were hugely
inspirational in the development of my story.The Secret of DNA is
the action song of the album. It describes the scientists search for an
answer about the evils of this worlds, which they find under the city of
Jerusalem where they find the hidden base of the Technocrat, and many
other answers. However, the Technocrat himself is missing. That will be
solved in Season 2. Musically, it mostly develops around the three notes
of the main riff, which is reworked in many different ways throughout
the song.

8. What mediums inspired the ideas to write
this concept album? (Books, films, games, exc.) Are there
any mediums that you might recommend to people who are interested in
these concepts?

Regarding the concept, the structure
and the theme, that came from sci-fi TV series Babylon 5, especially
the name Docker’s Guild and the structure in 5 Seasons. It is a true
sci-fi TV masterpiece and I highly recommend anyone to watch it from
beginning to end. There was also a book by Fritz Lieber called “Enter
Darkness!” that really marked me when I was a kid. A very dark story
about a future fake religion which controls humans though technology.
All 1920’s German Expressionism movies and TV serials, especially
Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. 1970s campy sci-fi like Flash
Gordon, Buck Rogers, Dr Who, The Black Hole. 1970’s Marvel comics and
Japanimation, especially Captain Harlock, Grendizer, Gundam and Jeeg.
There’s so much stuff I could fill a book! ;)

9.
What do you believe regarding the nature of man and the cosmos? As
you've stated about the fallibility of religion, do you believe in the
nature of the human spirit? Perhaps any metaphysical or arcane concepts?
If so, share them with us.

I am Buddhist actually.
Mostly Zen, but my wife is Thai so I also follow a bit of that and some
Tibetan stuff. Plus Brahmanic rituals related to traditional Thai music,
and I have very definite Gnostic tendencies in my vision of the world.
Human nature… if it were that good there would be no laws and no
religion, because we would be living in that state already. The fact
that we need to be constantly lectured and brainwashed about being
“good” means we are not. Humans are fundamentally flawed and corrupted,
as is the world of matter. Ironically, the story of the Original Sin, is
not that wrong, taken as myth. I think there is a spark of pure light
deep inside each human, but it’s buried under tons of dark matter. Call
it karma if you will. I think dogmatic religion is particularly
insidious here, because it trains people not to think. Follow, don’t
think, repeat, don’t think. It’s VERY scary. Real spiritual paths are
another matter altogether and I am a great supporter of all of them,
they all lead to the same place.

10. What do you
believe it will take to save the planet, if possible? I'd consider this
disc an effort to awaken sleeping minds who are shackled into popular
religion. For people who have just finished listening to the album and
are now questioning it's ideas, maybe even asking "what's next?" What
advice could you offer to them?

It can’t be saved,
in the sense we mean it, which is bring it back to its normal state
before we damaged it“. We’re part of the system, and the system will
cleanse itself out when the time is right. It might mean devastation to
us, but the planet has survived much worse. I do all my recycling and
care about the environment, but honestly, I don’t think any of it will
make a dent. It’s not up to me to offer any advice however, I’m here to
learn, certainly not to preach.

11. Talk to us a little more about "Darwin's Tears." (The short film.)

The
short film is a visual transposition of the plot I described above. It
is not a video clip, it is a real short film with actors, models,
extras, etc. There will be all the characters I mentioned before:
Eternity, the Three Muses, the Three Dark Religions that will turn
innocent people into brain dead indoctrinated zombies and much more. It
will be about 9 min long and it is shot in the 1920s Expressionist
style, so it’s all black and white, a bit surreal, with high contrasts
and some disturbing scenes and imagery. It was shot by Silo Production,
the same great team that produced 011 by Therion.

12.
Are you planning to take this live on the road? Maybe like a live stage
show with theatrics? If you were going to do a stage show, how would
you go about it?

I’d love to, but it’s difficult to
say now. For now we’re planning a very low-key acoustic showcase here in
Italy to celebrate the album release and the video sometime in the
future. It might happen, who knows?

13. What hobbies do you enjoy when you're not making music?

Reading,
I devour tons of books, comics, manuals, anything interesting, with a
particular interest for history, religion, sci-fi and horror. Same thing
with movies. I practice iaido, the zen martial art of samurai sword
fighting. I also enjoy biking, trakking and swimming, and travelling.

14.
Finally, if you could give a glimpse to further the story; what can we
expect from the next season? What surprises are in store? Will there be a
new set of special guests, perhaps?

First a
shocker: album 2 will not be Season 2. For now I can’t say much more not
to spoil the surprise, but it will be connected to the story, something
I’ve wanted to do since I was a teenager, and I’m sure everyone will be
very surprised and pleased. Album 3 will be Season 2, where we get deep
into the mind of the leading scientist in charge of saving the world,
discover what has to be done in order to do that and we will also
witness the beginning of the end of things, with the terrible events
that will unfold in Season 3. Several songs have already been written
and just need to be recorded. One of them will be called K475 (W.A.M.)
for example. Like in Season 1 there will be 2 instrumentals and 2 covers
as well. It’s too early to talk about special guests, but many have
expressed interest in returning, and I have my eye on some very special
talents in my wish list that I’ll try real hard to get on board. Thanks
you so much for having me here! Buy the album, we need all the support
we can get :)

THE REVIEW

DOCKER'S GUILDThe Mystic Technocracy Season One: The Age Of IgnoranceLion Music

There's
no doubt about it. 2012 has been an excellent year for metal, despite
the fact that there are still some people who believe it might be our
last. However, we've also been pleasantly gifted with the debut offering
from progressive operatic metallers, Docker's Guild. So if this is our
final year, than I'm glad that it went out with a bang. Because this
album is every bit of that bang, and I daresay the best album that
AYREON never made. Not than Arjen's self titled album was a wash; but it
was nothing like this. The album manages to space out 15 tracks of
sheer awesomeness in the form of classic metal riffs, phenomenal drum
work, trippy synths and structural changes that only help to enhance the
atmosphere of the work. In all actuality, this disc sounds like the
sort of thing we might expect to be on a Broadway stage, complete with
smoke machines, lavish set-pieces and costumes as well as a light-show.
Tracks like "Darwin's Tears" would actually be right at home in a
planetarium during a 3D show of such magnitude and it's not the only one
of these fifteen tracks that works at such a grand scale. This is what
comes out of a labor of love, not processed material that was quickly
shoved out to the masses as fodder for the metal scene. "The Age Of
Ignorance" is an album that would be best enjoyed in it's entirety, but
tracks like "The Mystic Technocracy", "Loving The Alien" or the sandwich
of "The Secret Of DNA Parts 1 &2" and "Purple Orb" are just what
you'll need for a quick prog fix. Though there are other vocalists on
the album, Douglas has some amazing pipes that stand out among all of
the complexities on this album. When I say complex, I mean that this
album is rather enormous, being filled to the brim with so many effects
that the synthesizers were probably close to the point of explosion. The
mixing effort alone must have been tedious; but it all sounds crisp,
clear and precise. This is the very definition of prog metal, with
beautiful guitar melodies and solos that seem to fit right in with the
gargantuan amount of effects contained within. This disc is so packed
with the very definition of "epic rock opera" that pulling everything
off of it would entail a full stage performance in my living room, which
wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. If you miss the glory days of
bands like AYREON, STAR ONE, KING CRIMSON, YES, GENESIS and many more,
then I humbly suggest that you pick up this impressive display of
musicianship.

Second Spotlight

Third Spotlight

Band/Album Search

Email Address For Bands/Labels/PR Contacts:

Don't use any other address please! I will try to respond to everything as quickly as I can. If you didn't hear from me, then chances are that I've picked up your materials and you will see them shortly on this site or on New Noise Magazine.

Like Us On Facebook!

Donate?

Please support me if you like my work. I definitely go above and beyond to manage this whole thing by myself. Many bands and labels are under the impression that many people operate this page. Nope! And if I had to tell you the sacrifice it takes to operate this thing, you'd be even more impressed. Meaning, I don't have access to the internet at home, so I update from my day job in most cases! Or wherever I can bum wifi.